Los Angeles Tax Attorney: IRS and FTB Audit Defense

Kugelman Law is a Los Angeles tax attorney practice representing high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and cryptocurrency investors in serious tax controversy matters across Southern California and nationwide.

From our downtown Los Angeles office at 633 West Fifth Street, we defend clients in IRS and California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) audits, residency disputes, digital-asset examinations, and high-dollar collection cases. Consultations are paid and fully protected by attorney-client privilege. To speak with an attorney, call (949) 835-0440.

We are a boutique firm built for high-stakes federal and California tax problems, not routine return preparation. If you are facing a large proposed liability, an audit that could turn on residency or unreported income, or an examination by the IRS’s wealth-focused units, you want counsel who has stood on both sides of these cases.

Our team is led by founder and managing attorney Alex Kugelman, nationally recognized for cryptocurrency tax, and includes Otto Bosch, a former IRS Revenue Agent from the Global High Wealth group.

Who we help in Los Angeles and Southern California

Southern California concentrates exactly the tax exposure our firm is built to handle: substantial income, complex assets, and aggressive enforcement from both the IRS and the FTB. We focus on three areas where the dollars, and the risk, are highest.

High-net-worth residency and FTB audits

California audits departing and high-income residents hard, and the proposed 2026 Billionaire Tax has only sharpened that scrutiny. If you have moved out of California, are planning to, or have received an FTB residency inquiry, the question of where you are domiciled can be worth millions.

We defend residency determinations, contest FTB findings, and advise on the substantive life changes that actually decide the issue. Alex Kugelman has been quoted in the Financial Times and the New York Post on California’s billionaire tax and the state’s residency audits of departed wealthy residents.

Cryptocurrency and digital-asset enforcement

The IRS treats digital assets as a top enforcement priority, and new Form 1099-DA reporting means exchange data now flows straight to the government. We represent crypto investors and traders facing digital-asset audits, unreported-gain exposure, John Doe summons data, and scam-loss questions, and we handle voluntary-disclosure decisions where criminal exposure may be on the table.

Alex Kugelman is a Los Angeles crypto tax attorney recognized nationally for this work, featured on the Bitcoin.tax podcast and The Mark Milton Show.

Business owners and large IRS audits

When the IRS’s Large Business & International division or its Global High Wealth group opens an examination, the stakes and the complexity climb quickly. We defend business owners and high-income taxpayers in these exams, in partnership and S-corporation audits, in eggshell audits where civil and criminal lines blur, and in U.S. Tax Court.

Otto Bosch worked inside the IRS’s Global High Wealth group as a Revenue Agent before joining the firm, and was quoted in Tax Notes in May 2026 on IRS examination training and LB&I audit campaigns.

Our Los Angeles office

Our downtown Los Angeles office anchors the firm’s presence in Southern California:

Kugelman Law
633 West Fifth Street, 28th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone: (949) 835-0440

We represent clients throughout California and nationwide on federal matters. Because our representation is handled remotely, you work directly with your attorney wherever you are located, from Los Angeles and Orange County to the Bay Area and across the country.

Tax controversy services

Our Los Angeles clients rely on us across the full range of federal and California tax disputes:

• Tax audit defense (IRS and FTB)
• Tax collections, liens, and levies
• U.S. Tax Court litigation
• Unfiled tax returns
• General tax help and representation
• Cryptocurrency accounting and audits
• NFT accounting and tax compliance
• Pig-butchering crypto scam losses
• Streamlined offshore procedures, delinquent FBAR, and foreign information procedures

Meet the attorneys

Alex Kugelman is the founder and managing attorney of Kugelman Law, with nearly two decades of federal tax controversy experience, including U.S. Tax Court and U.S. District Court litigation. He is admitted in California and before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S. District Court (Northern and Eastern Districts of California), and served as San Francisco Chair of the Federal Bar Association Tax Division in 2018. He is nationally recognized for cryptocurrency tax and has been quoted in the Financial Times and the New York Post on California’s billionaire tax and residency audits.

Otto Bosch is a tax controversy attorney and former IRS Revenue Agent from the Global High Wealth group within the IRS Large Business & International division. An IRS Enrolled Agent with an LL.M. in Taxation, he focuses on IRS audit defense, high-net-worth examinations, partnership and S-corporation taxation, tax collections, and U.S. Tax Court litigation, and represents Spanish-speaking clients in federal tax matters. He was quoted in Tax Notes in May 2026 on IRS examination training and LB&I audit campaigns.

Featured guidance for California taxpayers

Start with our in-depth articles on the issues facing Southern California high earners:

• California Residency Audits and the Billionaire Tax
• California Billionaire Tax (Proposition 40): What High-Net-Worth Residents Should Do
• How to Fight a California Residency Audit
• Moving Out of California Without Triggering an FTB Audit
• California Source Income After You Move: RSUs, Deferred Comp, and Business Sales

Results that matter

Our work is measured in liabilities eliminated and exposure avoided. In one matter, we reduced a $365,000 tax debt to a zero-dollar liability. In another, two IRS Notices of Deficiency proposed more than $557,000 in tax and penalties across six years; we settled the case in U.S. Tax Court down to roughly $38,000 in federal liability, and with avoided interest and California exposure the client effectively saved over $1.2 million.

Results depend on specific facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Frequently asked questions

What does a Los Angeles tax attorney at Kugelman Law cost?

We offer paid consultations that are fully protected by attorney-client privilege. We do not offer free consultations. Paying for the consultation means your conversation is confidential and privileged from the start, and you receive real analysis of your situation rather than a sales pitch. Call (949) 835-0440 to schedule.

Do you handle both IRS and California FTB matters?

Yes. We defend audits, appeals, collections, and litigation involving both the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board, including residency disputes that often involve both federal and state exposure at the same time.

I moved out of California. Can the FTB still audit me?

Yes. Leaving the state does not end California tax exposure. The FTB can examine your residency and your California-source income for years after you move, and it scrutinizes high-income departures closely. Domicile turns on substantive life changes, not just paperwork, which is why these audits are so contestable and so important to handle correctly.

Do you represent cryptocurrency investors facing IRS audits?

Yes. Alex Kugelman is nationally recognized for cryptocurrency tax, and we regularly represent investors and traders in IRS digital-asset audits, unreported-gain matters, and voluntary-disclosure decisions, including cases with potential criminal exposure.

What is an IRS Global High Wealth audit?

The Global High Wealth group is a dedicated IRS unit within the Large Business & International division that examines wealthy taxpayers and the web of entities connected to them. These exams are broad and document-intensive. Our attorney Otto Bosch worked as a Revenue Agent inside that group before joining the firm, which gives our clients an inside understanding of how these audits are built.

Do I have to meet in person at your Los Angeles office?

No. We represent clients throughout California and nationwide, and our representation is handled remotely, so you work directly with your attorney from wherever you are.

Speak with a Los Angeles tax attorney

If you are facing an IRS or FTB audit, a residency dispute, a cryptocurrency examination, or a large tax liability in Los Angeles or anywhere in Southern California, talk to us before you respond to the government. Schedule a paid, privileged consultation with Kugelman Law by calling (949) 835-0440 or visiting our contact page.

This page is attorney advertising and general information, not legal advice. Every tax matter turns on its own facts. Contacting Kugelman Law does not create an attorney-client relationship.